Page 152 of Starborn Husbands

“Then why do I exist?”

Father stands up taller, not to intimidate, but as if he’s protecting me from things only he can see. “Your mother was a special person, son. Apart from her beauty, she was kind. The singing to the animals in the forest kind of kind.”

I grit my teeth. “Until I killed her.”

“I wish you’d see it differently.” He sighs. “Humans like your mother attract the attention of the Gods.”

“Zeus,” I say. He’s notorious for mating with humans.

“Yes, but if only it would have been Zeus. It happened after she agreed to carry you for me, and you were already planted inside of her.”

“You’re making me sound like a plant, Father.”

“I’m trying not to gross you out.”

“Appreciated.”

“She said she thought it was me. The poor thing was so confused. He made love to her and infused his essence into her growing baby. You.”

“Who was it really, sir?”

He doesn’t want to tell me, he’s delaying it for as long as possible. “Mercury.”

Zhang laughs his ass off.

“What’s so funny about that?” I snap at him.

“The God of trickery and thieving,” he says.

I whack him, but even I have to admit he’s the shadier of the Gods and if a God were to sire me, it would be one like him. “What does that mean? Am I not your son?”

BecausethatI’ll freak out about.

“You’re an Orion, Treyu. My DNA is woven through your cells, and my blood flows through your veins. But his does too, along with his power. You’re distinctly an Orion, but you look a little of him.”

My heart stops racing. I can handle the weird “sired by two fathers” thing, but not my father not being my father. “Where is he, then? I can’t imagine he’d play a role in my creation only to fuck off.”

“Correct, which is why I took you to the hawthors as soon as you were born. I begged for the Goddess’ help. You were already so small and you needed the light of your star to nurture you, we couldn’t cut you off from that, but we needed some form of concealment. Nulaxy agreed. She hid you from him until you could get your sunstar. It had been so many years, I thought we’d dodged a huge war.”

“What does he want me for anyway? He’s a god.”

“Stars amplify. Imagine a star amplifying God’s power. You might only be a half-God, but combined with your star, you’ll be more powerful than the standard demigod. You have the benefit of being able to live in Earth’s atmosphere, something that has always been valuable to the Gods. Think about the power you could have there.”

“I won’t do it!”

“Whether you do or you don’t isn’t the issue. He’d love to have you for his army.”

“So would a lot of people.” I’m thinking about Daniel. “The angels lied to me.”

“Maybe,” Father says. “But you would have shown up as angel to them. A demigod is Nephilim-like in structure. Some would say they’re another kind of angel, but not one enslaved to the Gods of Heaven. You belong in Atlantis as a free citizen.”

“But not free of my ‘god dad’.” I run a hand through my hair. “If I’d been given an angel rune, I would have belonged to the Garrison.”

Father nods. “Good thing you didn’t.”

“And my enlightenment journey?”

“I’m as in the dark about that as you are.”